Letter to the Editor - Alarcio got it all wrong

Allow us to respond to the statement of Chief Supt. Silverio Alarcio slamming what he alleged as "deception" on our part after we performed a successful exorcism rite in front of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) Tuesday.

Alarcio claimed that we violated the "agreement" we forged the night before with Mayor Tomas Osmeña and other police officials not to hold any protest action near the CICC.

First, there's no such "agreement". What we pledged is this: Our rally will be peaceful, orderly and non-confrontational contrary to the media hype flaunted by some government and police officials painting a gory scenario on our planned mobilizations. I can't remember any of us committing not to hold any rally near CICC especially before the Summit.

Second, we opened up the possibility of ironing out the specific details and parameters of the actual conduct of our rallies with the mayor. This is in order to prevent any miscommunications between our group and the police that could possibly lead to violent clashes. We have scheduled a meeting with Mayor Osmeña on December 8 to discuss this further.

Third, we clarified that we are not out to disrupt the Summit. We are not against the ASEAN nor calling for its junking. What we protest is the apparent economic and politico-military intervention of the US in the ASEAN. We share the vision of "one caring and sharing community" in the context of genuine sovereignty and national patrimony.

Obviously, Alarcio got it all wrong. He should check his facts first before issuing a statement.

GLEMMAR R. BACUSMO
Media Bureau Chief
KMP-Cebu